April 2, 2019 by Jon Banister

8 Developments Planned Around Fairfax County's Silver Line Phase 2 Stations

The Silver Line Phase 2, slated to open next year, will include three new Metro stations in Reston and Herndon before reaching Dulles International Airport. They include the Reston Town Center station, near the pioneering mixed-use development of the same name, the Herndon station and the Innovation Center station, which sits on the border of Fairfax County and Loudoun County.

Developers have pitched massive mixed-use projects around the stations that are slated to include millions of square feet of office space and thousands of new residential units. Bisnow found eight major projects planned around the three Metro stations. 

 

Reston Gateway

Photo: Duda Paine Architects

• Metro Station: Reston Town Center
• Developer: Boston Properties
• Total Planned Size: 4.8M SF

In February 2018, Boston Properties landed Fannie Mae to pre-lease 850K SF of the 1M SF of office it plans for Reston Gateway's first phase. The developer in August received Fairfax County approval for the full 33-acre site plan, which calls for 4.8M SF of mixed-use development in between Reston Town Center and the under-construction Silver Line station. The development is planned to include 1.8M SF of office, 2,010 residential units, 570 hotel rooms and 162K SF of retail. 

Boston Properties also last year signed a full-building lease to kick off the final component of the original Reston Town Center development, with Leidos taking 276K SF in the 17-story tower. 

RTC West

Photo: JBG Smith

• Metro Station: Reston Town Center
• Developer: JBG Smith
• Total Planned Size: 1.3M SF 

JBG Smith in September received Fairfax County approval for the second phase of RTC West, which calls for 1.3M SF of new development. The first phase, completed last year, renovated existing office buildings and added 40K SF of retail, including Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant. The 14-acre property also sits in between Reston Town Center and the Silver Line station, across the street from the Reston Gateway project. 

The second phase is planned to include a 22-story trophy office tower and an eight-story office building it calls a "jewel-box building." The approved plans also include a 20-story apartment building with 293 units, a 22-story residential tower with 283 units, a seven-story loft office building above an existing parking garage and a one-story retail pavilion in the project's main green space. 

Halley Rise

Photo: Courtesy of Brookfield Properties

• Metro Station: Reston Town Center
• Developer: Brookfield Properties
• Total Planned Size: 3.5M SF 

Also near the Reston Town Center station, Brookfield unveiled plans last year for its $1.4B Halley Rise development. Wegmans will anchor the development with an 80K SF grocery store, and the project will feature self-driving cars through a partnership with Optimus Ride.

The full development, a transformation of a 36-acre office park, is planned to include 1,500 residential units, 1.5M SF of office space, 250K SF of retail and 5 acres of open space. The developer expects to begin construction this year on the first phase, which will include 640 residential units, 450K SF of office and 200K SF of retail, and deliver it in 2022. It aims to complete the full project by 2026. 

Woodland Park East

Photo: Fairfax County

• Metro Station: Herndon
• Developer: Tishman Speyer, Pinkard Group, NVR
• Total Planned Size: 1.6M SF 

Before Metro's arrival was set in stone, Tishman Speyer had planned a suburban office park on the 31.5-acre Dulles Toll Road site, but it then pivoted to a major mixed-use development once the Silver Line became a reality. The developer received approval in 2017 for a 1.6M SF project including 560K SF of office, 200K SF of retail and 678 residential units, a mix of apartments and townhouses.

Tishman Speyer has since sold off pieces of the site, including a residential parcel to NVR and Westbrook Properties and a 3.3-acre office development site to Pinkard Group and Beckham Gumbin Ventures in October. 

The Hub

Photo: Open-Reebes

• Metro Station: Innovation Center
• Developer: Open-Reebes
• Total Planned Size: 5.5M SF 

The Innovation Center station, the last stop before Dulles International Airport, sits on the border of Fairfax County and Loudoun County, and the development around it includes projects in each jurisdiction. Open-Reebes, a joint venture of Dallas-based firms Open Realty Advisors and Reebes, reached a deal in 2017 to develop The Hub, a mixed-use project on an 85-acre site on the boundary of the two counties. 

The project, once pitched as part of Fairfax and Loudoun's joint Amazon HQ2 bid, is planned to include 3.5M SF of office, 1,265 residential units, 400K SF of retail and 350 hotel rooms. The joint venture's website says the first phase of The Hub will open in 2020 with retail, restaurants and entertainment venues. 

Center for Innovative Technology Campus

Photo: Divaris Real Estate

• Metro Station: Innovation Center
• Developer: For sale
• Total Planned Size: 3.8M SF 

The 26-acre Center for Innovative Technology campus, also pitched as part of the Loudoun-Fairfax HQ2 bid, was put up for sale last month. Virginia retained Divaris Real Estate to market the site, which is currently occupied by a 30-year-old, 149K SF office complex. 

Fairfax County in December approved a rezoning plan for the site that allows up to 3.8M SF of office space on the site, plus residential and retail space. Divaris is marketing the property's location in an opportunity zone, making federal tax benefits available to potential investors. 

Innovation Center South

Photo: Rocks Engineering

• Metro Station: Innovation Center
• Developer: Rocks Engineering Co., Penzance
• Total Planned Size: 1.6M SF 

Directly to the south of the Innovation Center Station, Rocks Engineering Co. has plans for a 1.6M SF mixed-use development. The plans call for over 1,000 residential units, 500K SF of office space, 190 hotel rooms and 84K SF of retail. 

The project's office component, branded as The Landing, is a partnership with Penzance. DCS Design is the architect and CBRE is leasing the office space. 

2 Pomeroy Cos. Projects

Photo: Bisnow/Jon Banister

• Metro Station: Innovation Center
• Developer: Pomeroy Cos.
• Total Planned Size: 2,000 units

The Pomeroy Cos. last year submitted plans with Fairfax County for two developments on adjacent 40-acre sites near the Innovation Center Metro station, at the intersection of Sunrise Valley Drive and Frying Pan Road. 

The first development, dubbed Aurora Station at Dulles, calls for 1,031 residential units, plus retail, commercial space and outdoor recreation areas.

The second project, 1 Sunrise Valley, is a partnership between Pomeroy and CRC Cos. that is planned to include 1,114 units with a 135K SF elementary school and commercial space.